Sessions hasn’t ruled out Senate run, Shelby says

Posted Jun 19, 2019

AP

Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions addresses a business group in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. Sessions praised what he called the policy achievements of President Donald Trump but said he doesn't follow tweets as much as he once did. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)

Former attorney general Jeff Sessions has not ruled out running next year for his old Senate seat, the state’s senior senator said Wednesday, as Republicans braced for the expected entrance into the race of Roy Moore, their failed 2017 candidate.

“Sessions I don’t think has ruled it out,” Sen. Richard Shelby told reporters. “I’ve talked to him about it. I think if he ran he would be a formidable candidate, formidable. I’ve not encouraged him to run, but he’s a friend, and if he ran I think he’d probably clear the field.”

Sessions, who held his Senate seat for 20 years, declined to comment on questions about his plans, an assistant said.

Shelby’s comments came a day ahead of a planned announcement by Moore in Montgomery, about whether he will run again.

Moore, who fell short in a special election two years ago amid allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls in the 1970s, has been eyeing a rematch next year with now-Sen. Doug Jones.

Moore has repeatedly hinted that he will enter the race despite misgivings expressed by President Donald Trump and numerous other high-profile Republicans.

In a tweet last month, Trump stood by his support for Moore in 2017 but warned that a second loss would give Jones the Senate seat for six years as opposed to the two-year term he won in the special election to replace Sessions.

Responding to Trump, Moore asked in a tweet why he "scares the 'hell' out of the Washington DC establishment."

Shelby said Wednesday that he would not support Moore, a former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, for the Senate seat.

"There are a lot reasons known to you and everybody else," Shelby said. "I think Alabama could do better. I think he would be a disrupter. I think we can win that seat back as the Republicans, but I won't supporting him."

Shelby suggested it would be difficult to beat Jones next year if Moore in the GOP nominee.

"I think we've got a lot of talent in Alabama that maybe could come to the front," he said.

Several Republicans have already announced bids, including Rep. Bradley Byrne; Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill; state Rep. Arnold Mooney; and former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville.

Sessions resigned from the Senate in 2017 to join Trump's Cabinet as attorney general.

Trump repeatedly publicly berated Sessions for recusing himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Sessions, who was a high-profile supporter of Trump’s 2016 campaign, resigned as attorney general in November at Trump’s request.